Makita 1002BA platter and bowl carving (free hand- not on a lathe)

[andy Needles]

Hello all!

Its been a while since I've posted.

Ive been selling a fair number of rock and fossil inlaid platters and bowls at a local winery. I'm looking for a faster and more accurate way of grinding them out (before the rock and resin are put in of course, wood only). I think the Makita 1002BA curved shoe power planer might be the ticket. They are a specialty Item, so I'll probably have to plunk down $300+ for it

My current method is roughing them out with a arbortech, and then grinding them smoother and smoother with hard resin pads. I finish off with an RO sander.

Does anyone else out there do this (grind out seats or shallow platters)?

If so what is your fastest technique?

Have anyone else used this planer (Makita 1002BA) to carve seats or shallow platters and bowls?

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read and respond!

www.dovercanyonrustic.com (http://www.dovercanyonrustic.com)

[Jason Christenson]

How big are they? You can get a 10" Jet mini-lathe from Amazon for less than $300.00.

Jason

[andy Needles]

I'm mostly using walnut slab cut offs- they are in wierd shapes. I'm looking to free grind them, rather than turn them. I also hollow out a fair # of seats.

[Jim Holman]

I use a router with a "Platter" bit and a custom rounded base riding on a curved template. I can rough a chair seat needing only final sanding in less than 5 minutes. It does not work well for saddle type seats only for dished ones.

[andy Needles]

Thanks for the ideas!

DO you have a pic of or a link to this custom router base on a curved template?